The Serbian has had a disrupted start to life on Tyneside - with a three-match ban ruling him out of just under half of the Magpies league games - but he is now available again and looks ready to kick on.

His reintroduction against Chelsea added a new dimension to the Newcastle attack and helped Steve McClaren’s men grab a valuable point against the champions.

He bagged his first goal for the club the following week against Manchester City and glimpses of an effective partnership with Perez have started to appear.

“He understands me, I understand him. We show on the training field we understand each other,” said Mitrovic, in quotes published by the Chronicle.

“We train together, we work together and we speak all the time. We can help each other. I like him so much, he’s a funny guy and we work together well.”

The form of the two young forwards has been a rare positive in what has been a dismal start to the season for Newcastle, but there is now reason to be optimistic.